sábado, 21 de junio de 2014

Comparissons

Hi friends, 

It's the boring me with another post haha. 
This time i want to write about something i feel, like very much in the inside.

In my school, i spend A LOT of time with kids aged 4-5, and i LOVE IT, they make me laugh, they love it when i play with them, always ask me to stay in their classroom, and i just have a lot of little pals there. But, there's 1 little girl, who we'll call "A" for her safety, and 2 little twin boys, who we'll call "C" and "Y" for their safety. So, A is one special little girl, she's bossy haha but always is making someone laugh, and before you leave, she always says "But first, a big kiss and a big hug". About C and Y, there's a lot of tenderness going on there, they are the youngest on their class, they have recently turned 3. They are total studs and i love them! And if they love you back, they will do this "Twin thing" with you and kiss you in the nose.

As i have spent so many time with them, i start to get a little bit sad, because Isa doesn't talk, and she's almost the same age as those kids. Sometimes, when im with them, i imagine it would be cool to go to get ice cream and being able to ask her what flavor she wants. But don't get me wrong, Isa is SUCH a communicator, if she is mad, she wont look at you and will refuse to play with you until her daddy comes to pick her up, and when she's saying goodbye, she will kiss everyone but will just wave to you. She is such a diva! When she's thirsty she says: "Agua" (Water in spanish) and that's how she gets it. She has her own body language, despite she can say many simple words, she prefers it with body language. If you ask her if she wants to listen to music she starts dancing and says: "Gaga" (Lady Gaga is her favorite artist, she loves all of her songs, and as im a big little monster too, no wonder where she got that from)



Almost Forgot! 
Last Friday, she was here, and i was having lunch in the kitchen after school and i was sitting in a chair, and Isabella was playing with other chair behind me. Isa started pulling out my chair to play with it too but i said: "No puedo darte mi silla por que o si no, ¿Donde me siento yo?" (I can't give you mi chair because, then, where would i sit?) and she brought the other chair back and simply said: "Aca" (Here) and my mom and i almost cried, is the first time EVER that she continues a sentence like that, without us asking her something or her saying the word out of nowhere!

And yes, every kid has their own capabilities and if she doesn't talk and they do, she can do a complete split and they can't. Im so proud of you, Isabella! 

 

Love,
Auntie.

sábado, 31 de mayo de 2014

Perspective

Hi everyone!
As i promised, i will share my thoughts.
So, today i was chatting with a friend about perspective, about the way people see individuals with Down Syndrome. 


Today Science Fair took place at school, so we all had to be there all day. At recess, i was sitting with my friend, some ice cream, doritos and a coke, plus a wonderful sun (Doesn't it sound perfect? Because it was!) when we saw a young man with Down Syndrome passing by. My friend told me that that young man lived near her house. There we started talking about how mean can people be when they talk about individuals with Down Syndrome. And sadly, all of us who are lucky enough to be blessed with a child with Down Syndrome, have experienced first hand how mean people can be.


It is in that moment when i think: "Why can't these people see in Isabella what i see?" "It is just that they can't see the cute, funny, smart, kind, spunky, lovable girl i see?" "Is it that they can just see Down Syndrome?" Then, they can't really have the privilege to see the girl we see. Its like, when you open a gift. The wrapping may show you plenty of scary things, myths and stereotypes, but when you open it, it is that beautiful that you find yourself speechless, that's why it is a gift. 




I hope that maybe one die before i die, people can learn how to unwrap the most beautiful gifts. 


miércoles, 28 de mayo de 2014

Welcome to our crazy wagon!


Hi everyone!

My name is Valentina and i am 14 years old. And the beautiful girl that i have the honor to be holding in this picture is Isabella, my 3 year old niece who is really spunky, cute, mischievous, funny, smart, and happens to have Down Syndrome.




Maybe some of you are wondering why in the world would a 14 year old start this kind of blog. Okay, it is just that i am not THAT kind of 14 year old. Before you ask, yes, im into selfies, buuuuut im also into advocacy, into books, into adoption, into special needs kids and a whole bunch of stuff that people in my school don't consider appropiate for my age, but that's ok, after all it makes me feel kinda better with myself haha.

My native language is not english, so please forgive me if you spot any grammar mistake. 
The purpose of this blog is to teach people that Down Syndrome is not an illness, that people don't suffer from Down Syndrome. This blog will serve as a diary in which i will share all of our adventures, but also all of my wild, crazy thoughts.



Welcome to this wagon called A Little Extra, we hope you enjoy the ride!